International Journal of Applied Chemistry.

ISSN 0973-1792 Volume 13, Number 1 (2017) pp. 53-58

© Research India Publications
http://www.ripublication.com

Acid Rain-The Major Cause of Pollution:

Its Causes, Effects

Subodh Kumar
Assistant Professor, Chemistry Department
Chandra Kamal Mahavidhiyalaya, Vichawa,
Mainpuri, Utter Pradesh, India.

Abstract

Acidification of rain-water is identified as one of the most serious

environmental problems of transboundary nature. Acid rain is mainly a
mixture of sulphuric and nitric acids depending upon the relative quantities of
oxides of sulphur and nitrogen emissions. Due to the interaction of these acids
with other constituents of the atmosphere, protons are released causing
increase in the soil acidity. Lowering of soil pH mobilizes and leaches away
nutrient cations and increases availability of toxic heavy metals.

Keyword: Acid rain, sulphuric, Deposition, nitrogen, pollutants Causes,

Effects, Control PDF of full length paper is available with author .

INTRODUCTION
Since the beginning of civilization, human beings have used various natural resources
for their benefit. To make their life easier, they have produced facilities that use many
of the Earth’s energy resources. . On one side this kind of development makes our
lives easier, but on the other hand it results into pollution by release harmful substance
into environment. Acid rain is the most serious environmental problems emerged due
to air pollution. Acid rain is particularly damaging to lakes, streams and forests, and
the plants and animals that live in these ecosystems. Rain is one of the most essential
ingredients for human and animal life. The water provided by rain allows all life on
54 Subodh Kumar

Earth to survive. Although rain is naturally acidic, it is being increasingly acidified by

pollution from homes, factories, power stations and cars. The term used to describe
this problem is “acid rain”. Acid rain hasn’t just occurred in the last twenty to thirty
years. This was over 100 years ago.For years ever since most of the world has been
industrialized, the effects of pollution have plagued nations alike. Acid rain is one of
the largest contributors to this industrialized form of pollution.
New Delhi adds 1,500 poorly regulated new cars to its roads every day, so it's no
wonder that the city is choking on auto exhaust. Asian air pollution kills 2 million
people every year. Tough emissions laws in the U.S. explain why we're breathing
better, despite adding cars, population and miles traveled. Acid rain is also called acid
deposition because this term includes other forms of acidic precipitation such as
snow.It is two types of deposition:
1. Wet deposition
2. Dry deposition

Wet Deposition
Wet deposition refers to acidic rain, fog, and snow. If the acid chemicals in the air are
blown into areas where the weather is wet, the acids can fall to the ground in the form
of rain, snow, fog, or mist. As this acidic water flows over and through the ground, it
affects a variety of plants and animals.

Dry Deposition
In areas where the weather is dry, the acid chemicals may become incorporated into
dust or smoke and fall to the ground through dry deposition, sticking to the ground,
buildings, homes, cars, and trees. Dry deposited gases and particles can be washed
from these surfaces by rainstorms, leading to increased runoff.

Causes of acidification:- Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen and ozone to
some extent are the primary causes of acid rain. These constituents interact with
reactants present in the atmosphere and result into acid deposition. The natural
sources of sulphur pollutants are oceans and to much smaller extent from volcanic
eruptions. The man-made sources of SO2 emissions are the burning of coal and
petroleum and various industrial processes (Cullis and Hischler, 1980). Other sources
include the smelting of iron and other metallic (Zn and Cu) ores, manufacture of
sulphuric acids, and the operation of acid concentrators in the petroleum industry.The
levels of NOx are small in comparison to SO2, but its contribution in the production
of acid rain is increasing.
The degree of acidity is measured by pH value, it is shorthand version of potential
hydrogen. The pH of normal rainwater is also acidic; the reason is that water reacts to
a slight extent with atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) to produce carbonic acid.
Acid Rain-The Major Cause of Pollution: Its Causes, Effects 55

CO2 + H2O H2CO3 (carbonic acid)

Small amount of nitric acid is also responsible for the acidityof normal rainwater,
which is produced by the oxidation of nitrogenin presence of water during lightening
storms.
2 N2 + 5O2 + 2H2O 4 HNO3 (nitric acid)

Rain that presents a concentration of H+ ion greater than 2.5 µeq-1 and pHvalue is
less than 5.6 is considered acid (Evans,1984). Galloway et al. (1982) proposed a pH
of 5.0 as a limit of natural contribution.

Chemical reactions during acid rain formation: The chemical reaction that results
in the formation of acid rain involves the interaction of SO2, NOx and O3. When the
pollutants are vented into the atmosphere by tall smoke stakes, molecules of SO2 and
NOx are caught up in the prevailing winds, where they interact in the presence of
sunlight with vapours to form sulphuric acid and nitric acid mists. These acids remain
in vapour state under the prevalent high temperature conditions. When the
temperature falls, condensation takes the form of aerosol droplets, which owing to the
presence of unburnt carbon particles will be black, acidic and carbonaceous in nature.
Acid reactions involving O3:-
O3- O2 + O
O+H2O OH• (hydroxy radical)
OH•+S02 HSO3
HSO3-+ OH H2SO4
OH+NO2- HNO3
HSO3 + O2- SO32-+ HO•2 (peroxy radical)

Peroxy radicals react with formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and form formic and acetic
acids and some other organic acids, contributing to 5-20% acidity in total acid rain
load.

Acid reactions involving sulphur:

Coal is especially rich in sulphur. As coal is burned, its component get oxidized
S + O2 SO2
The oxidation of sulphur to SO2 occurs directly in the flame; therefore SO2 is
discharged to the atmosphere from the smoke stacks. As SO 2 is swept along by the
prevailing wind, it is slowly oxidized at ordinary temperature to SO32-
56 Subodh Kumar

2 SO2 + O2 2 SO32-
SO3 2-+ H2O H2SO4
SO2 + H H2SO3 (H+ HSO3)
HSO3 + O3 SO42++ H+ + O2
Oxidant property of atmosphere plays an important role in conversion of SO3 2- to
SO4. Sulphur dioxide oxidation is most common in clouds and especially in heavily
polluted air where compounds such as ammonia and O3 are in abundance. These
catalysts help to convert more SO2 into sulphuric acid.
H2 O2 + HSO3 - HSO4- + H2O

Acid reactions involving nitrogen:-

NO2 + OH HNO3 Nitric Acid
NO2 + O NO3
NO2 + NO3 N2O5
N2O5+ H2O 2HNO3 Nitric Acid

Effects of Acid Rain

After studying the Hubbard Brook Forest and other areas today, there are several
important impacts of acid deposition on both natural and man-made environments.
Aquatic settings are the most clearly impacted by acid deposition though because
acidic precipitation falls directly into them. Both dry and wet deposition also runs off
of forests, fields, and roads and flows into lakes, rivers, and streams.

Effects of acid rain on Health:-

Acid rain looks, feels, and tastes just like clean rain. The harm to people from acid
rain is not direct. Walking in acid rain, or even swimming in an acid lake, is no more
dangerous than walking or swimming in clean water. However, the pollutants that
cause acid rain sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) do damage human
health. These gases interact in the atmosphere to form fine sulfate and nitrate particles
that can be transported long distances by winds and inhaled deep into people's lungs.
Fine particles can also penetrate indoors. Many scientific studies have identified a
relationship between elevated levels of fine particles and increased illness and
premature death from heart and lung disorders, such as asthma and bronchitis.
Acid Rain-The Major Cause of Pollution: Its Causes, Effects 57

Acid rain harms other plants

Acid rain can harm other plants in the same way it harms trees. Although damaged by
other air pollutants such as ground level ozone, food crops are not usually seriously
affected because farmers frequently add fertilizers to the soil .
Effects in the forest
Over the years, scientists, foresters, and others have noted a slowed growth of some
forests. Leaves and needles turn brown and fall off when they should be green and
healthy. In extreme cases, individual trees or entire areas of the forest simply die off
without an obvious reason.

Effects on Stone Buildings and Monuments in Acid Rain

Marble and limestone have long been preferred materials for constructing durable
buildings and monuments. . Marble and limestone both consist of calcium carbonate
(CaCO3), and differ only in their crystalline structure. Limestone consists of smaller
crystals and is more porous than marble; it is used more extensively in buildings.
Marble, with its larger crystals and smaller pores, can attain a high polish and is thus
preferred for monuments and statues. Although these are recognized as highly durable
materials, buildings and outdoor monuments made of marble and limestone are now
being gradually eroded away by acid rain calcium carbonate and sulfuric acid (the
primary acid component of acid rain) results in the dissolution of CaCO3 to give
aqueous ions, which in turn are washed away in the water flow.
CaCO3 +H2SO4→Ca2+(aq)+SO42- +H2O+CO2
This process occurs at the surface of the buildings or monuments; thus acid rain can
easily destroy the details on relief work (e.g., the faces on a statue), but generally does
not affect the structural integrity of the building.

What's Being Done?

Because of these problems and the adverse effects air pollution has on human health,
a number of steps are being taken to reduce sulfur and nitrogen emissions. Most
notably, many governments are now requiring energy producers to clean smoke stacks
by using scrubbers which trap pollutants before they are released into the atmosphere
and catalytic converters in cars to reduce their emissions.

Control of acid rain:-

This can be achieved by following ways:
Liming:- The damage to lakes and other water bodies can be eliminated by adding
lime. Many chemicals such as caustic soda, sodium carbonate, slacked lime and
limestone are most popular for raising pH of acidified water (Khemani et al., 1985).
58 Subodh Kumar

Liming eliminates some of the symptoms of acidification; it is expensive and not real
cure.

Policy Intervention:- In 1970s and 1980s the effects of acid rain on natural resources
and ecosystems became an issue of considerable public concern in both northwestern
Europe and northeastern United States. Several northeastern States and the Province
of Ontario, Canada, sued the US Environment Protection Agency in 1980 to take
action to control acid precursor emissions emanating from states in the government.
U.S congress formed the national acid precipitation assessment programme (NAPAP)
and mandated NAPAP to conduct a 10-year scientific, technological and economic
study of the acid rain issue under the acid precipitation act of 1980. The purpose of
the study was to inform public policy by providing information on:
1. Specific regions and resources affected by acidic deposition.
2. How and where acid precursor emissions are transformed and distributed?
3. Whether the effects are extensive and require mitigation?
4. What emission control technologies and mitigation options are

REFERENCES
[1] Brown, Lemay, and Buster. Chemistry: the Central Science, 7th ed. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1997. p. 673-5.
[2] Charola, A. "Acid Rain Effects on Stone Monuments," J. Chem. d. 64 (1987),
p. 436-7.
[3] Firor, J. (1992) The Changing Atmosphere, New Haven, CT: Yale University
Press.